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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25151011">Stitches (Bucky Barnes x reader)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/revengingbarnes/pseuds/revengingbarnes'>revengingbarnes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Medical, Doctor AU, F/M, Hospitals, it's doctor x med student</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:27:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25151011</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/revengingbarnes/pseuds/revengingbarnes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You’re just a clueless new medical student. You’re not equipped to deal with charming, witty, handsome doctors. Especially not ones with pretty blue eyes that make you weak in the knees.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>187</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stitches (Bucky Barnes x reader)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nobody could guess exactly how beyond excited you were for the third year of med school.</p>
<p>This was the year when clinical training officially started. Gone were the long hours of lectures and lab work, it was all about the hospital now. You were beginning to feel like a real doctor. </p>
<p>You still remembered your first month in the wards. It was all so new and unfamiliar. You had gotten lost in the endless confusing buildings and floors more times than you could count, and despite being six months into clinical training, you still had no idea where everything was. It felt like navigating a maze. </p>
<p>Patients would often stop you and ask for directions, considering you were wearing a lab coat. You would blink and feel your face burn in embarrassment, having no idea what to tell them. Mostly, you’d just direct them to someone else. On the rare occasion that you knew where they wanted to go, you’d tell them. And then feel powerful for the next ten minutes. </p>
<p>In the last six months, you had mentally sketched out a few of the many, many hospital buildings you had to work in. And once you had your footing, you began to branch out, finding quieter rooms and clinics where interesting things would happen. This was what the third year of medical school was all about. There were no books to guide you anymore, you had to find your own way. </p>
<p>“You’ll be spending six hours a day in these halls,” The house officer, a young doctor who looked less than enthusiastic about teaching medical students, said to your group on the first day. “Make yourself useful. Look around, go into wards, talk to patients, take detailed histories. If you’re feeling brave, start practicing blood withdrawal, how to take samples, how to perform simple tests. The labs in the basement are open for all med students. If you practice enough, we’ll even let you draw blood from patients. But until then, practice on dummies, and each other.”</p>
<p>So that’s exactly what you did. You went to the Outpatient Department, you went to the labs, you spent hours in the A&amp;E building. You took blood samples, gave tetanus shots, watched doctors perform ascitic taps and lumbar punctures. It was all so fascinating. Most doctors were amused when you’d walk up to them, shiny white coat, wide eyed, small notebook and pen in hand. </p>
<p>“This is all going to get really boring in a few weeks, kid.” A doctor in scrubs muttered while performing a Double Lumen procedure. You’d seen a few double lumens before, but this one was by far going the smoothest. You could tell he was skilled. You snuck a glance at the hospital card pinned to his breast pocket. Tony Stark. </p>
<p>“Then I’ll just learn as much as I can while it’s still interesting.” You replied, not being able to take your eyes off his gloved hands as they worked expertly. He grunted in reply. </p>
<p>When the procedure was done, you wandered off again, in search of something else you could watch or partake in. Your watch told you that you still had a couple of hours before you had to catch your bus home, so you exited Acute Medical Unit and looked around the massive expanse of corridor outside. You were feeling adventurous today, so you decided to try a small corridor branching from the main one. The noises of the A&amp;E faded away as you walked farther, blinking at the white door in front of you. You looked at the sign above it.</p>
<p>Minor OT.</p>
<p>You had absolutely no clue what that meant, but you were about to find out.</p>
<p>You walked into a small room, and were immediately hit by the strong smell of antiseptic. The wall opposite to you was lined by tables. To your left were mounted shelves, filled with boxes of stuff you couldn’t make out from the distance. To your right was a small chair and desk with papers and files covering it. In the centre of the room was a patient couch with a large light overhead and an empty IV stand next to it. </p>
<p>A man stood across the room, head bent over and back facing you. He turned around when the door squeaked open. His face was covered by a blue surgical mask, and his eyes were covered by huge surgical goggles. He glanced at your lab coat, then back at your face, before turning to the table again.</p>
<p>“Close the door.” He called out, making you hasten to push it shut behind you. You fidgeted where you stood, feeling your eyes water.</p>
<p>“Put those on.” He pointed to a cabinet to your left, its shelves filled with protective equipment. You placed your notebook on the desk and immediately started putting the gloves on. You still had no idea where you were, but it looked interesting enough, so you just went along with it.</p>
<p>“Haven’t seen you around before.” The man commented, still not looking up from whatever he was doing. His voice was slightly muffled by the mask, but the room was small and quiet, so you heard him loud and clear.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I haven’t been here.” You replied, feeling the relief of putting the goggles on and keeping whatever this chemical was out of your eyes.</p>
<p>“What year?”</p>
<p>“Third.”</p>
<p>He laughed at that, turning to look at you. You could see the mirth in his eyes. “Yeah, that makes sense. Senior students don’t give a shit about Minor OT.”</p>
<p>“What do you do here exactly?” You asked, walking over to him. He was much taller up close, and you saw that he was wearing blue scrubs under his lab coat. You could make out brown hair under his blue scrub cap, a small tendril poking out and curling behind his ear. You finally got close enough to see what he was up to, eyes widening when you saw him threading little, curved needles.</p>
<p>“No way!” You gasped, leaning closer to see. “Suture needles?”</p>
<p>You didn’t look up to see the amusement lingering in the man’s eyes as he smiled under his mask, humming in agreement.</p>
<p>“Minor Operating Theatre.” He replied. “Small surgeries. Mostly accident victims. Someone’s going to split their head open and they’ll come here instead of AMU.”</p>
<p>You felt yourself cringe in embarrassment. That seemed obvious enough. Why didn’t you get that? God, you really were stupid.</p>
<p>“So, Third Year,” the man straightened. “Wanna learn how to suture?”</p>
<p>You had never nodded that fast.</p>
<p>The doctor smiled and nodded, shuffling to the side just a bit to make space for you. Then he reached across the table and picked up a small, box shaped dummy. It was covered with silicone skin, and right at the centre was a long, clean knife cut. </p>
<p>"Alright, look closely.” He spoke, beginning to narrate the steps of applying a basic suture on the cut already present on the model. You leaned closer to see what was happening, trying to keep track of which path the needle took, how the thread twisted. In the close proximity, his scent drifted into your nose, a mix of mint and pyodine, and something else you couldn’t entirely pinpoint. You couldn’t help but breathe deep. He smelled nice. </p>
<p>When he finally snipped off the excess thread, you exhaled, muscles relaxing. Your eyes were wide and awestruck as you looked at the small, clean stitch on the silicone skin. </p>
<p>“Your turn.” His voice was soft, picking up another threaded needle and handing it to you along with the scissors. </p>
<p>“I-” You took the materials, feeling unsure. </p>
<p>“It’s okay, Third Year. Not a real person. Go on.”</p>
<p>You breathed and began working, feeling your hands trembling with the unfamiliar movements. </p>
<p>“It’s Y/N.”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>You didn’t look up as you worked. “My name is Y/N, not Third Year.”</p>
<p>You could practically hear the smile in his voice. “Hello Y/N. I’m James.”</p>
<p>………………..</p>
<p>The next couple of weeks were spent blissfully in the Minor OT. You hadn’t realized how much you would love suturing and cleaning wounds until you were actively doing it. You also seemed to have a natural talent for it, which made it even more fun. Minor OT was small and quiet, and at most, only two or three patients would be in the room. There was no shouting and chaos like it was in the AMU, and you didn’t have to push through groups of medical students in order to see what was going on. You had the whole room to yourself, with just one doctor guiding you through the procedures, and within a few days, you were so at home that you knew exactly where everything was at any given time.</p>
<p>Speaking of the doctor, James was one of the most fun people to hang out with. He was witty and had a great sense of humor, but at the same time, he was kind and gentle. He was very patient with you when teaching you new techniques, and it was your favorite time of the day. James would lean so close to you that you could feel his body heat on your side. You could see the beautiful blue of his eyes, the same color as the mask covering his face. You had yet to see what he looked like, considering that you always saw him with a mask on. But you didn’t need to see his face to know that he was undoubtedly a very handsome man. </p>
<p>God, you definitely had a thing for him. </p>
<p>Over the next few weeks, you and him had developed the perfect harmony in Minor OT. Once you knew the basic procedure on dealing with most injuries, you two would work like synchronised machines whenever a patient would walk in. You and him talked a lot as you worked, both to the patient before you and to each other. He’d ask about school and give you tips on how to handle the insane amount of stress. He was only two years out of med school, and looked back at his time fondly. Everytime you would complain about how hard med school was, he’d tell you to chill out and narrate some outrageous story from his days as a student that would make you laugh and shake your head in disbelief. </p>
<p>On your third day, you applied your first suture on a patient after practicing it on a dummy hundreds of times. A seven year old kid that had fallen and broken her nose. After cleaning up the blood, James handed the needle to you.</p>
<p>“Wanna do it?” His eyebrow jerked up in question. Your eyes widened in surprise but you nodded, taking the needle. James held the child in place and applied the anesthesia, leaving the suturing to you. It was the most intense two minutes of your life. You didn’t breathe for a second. When you were done, James exhaled and nodded in approval.</p>
<p>“Very good, Y/N.” You felt elated at the praise, feeling your heart stutter slightly. James sounded genuinely proud of you, and when you looked up at him, his mask had stretched and eyes crinkled. He was smiling.</p>
<p>You were glad your own mask hid your giddy grin. You didn’t know if you were happier about the praise, or the suturing you had just done.</p>
<p>……………..</p>
<p>It was a rainy Thursday afternoon when you found yourself in the hospital cafeteria. You had bought yourself a coffee that was still too hot to ingest, and a textbook was open in front of you. You had a presentation due tomorrow and you hadn’t even started working on it yet. So as soon as you were done with the day’s mandatory clinical time, you had opted to sit your ass down and actually get some studying done. So far, you hadn’t made much progress. </p>
<p>Your eye caught movement in your peripheral vision, turning your head to look at a tall man in scrubs. Your eyebrows shot up. </p>
<p>“Doctor Barnes?" </p>
<p>He shot you a grin. "Mind if I sit?" </p>
<p>You shook your head and immediately straightened in your seat. "Not at all.”</p>
<p>You watched him place an ice cream cup on the table, sitting down on the chair opposite to you. You couldn’t stop looking at him, taking in his features. </p>
<p>He was all sharp jawline and high cheekbones, and now that the cap on his head was gone, you saw his glorious, chestnut locks flow down the sides of his face, brushing his neck. His jaw supported a light stubble that made him look cozy and inviting, and he had the prettiest smile. </p>
<p>That’s it. You were smitten. </p>
<p>For a few seconds, you couldn’t stop looking at his face, darting your eyes everywhere to make your gawking seem a little less obvious. James had the smallest smirk on his face, not looking at you as he ate his ice cream. You pointedly turned your stare down to your book again, but you didn’t even bother to read the words. It’s not like something was going to get into your head anyway. </p>
<p>“Pharmacology?” You looked up at James, nodding at his question. </p>
<p>“I have a presentation due. I haven’t even started.”</p>
<p>He looked at the clock over your head, shrugging. “You have a good 10 hours. Don’t sweat it.”</p>
<p>You sighed. “That’s what you always say. How are you this carefree?" </p>
<p>He’s shrugged and shot you a cheeky grin so contagious that you couldn’t help but smile back. </p>
<p>"This one presentation isn’t going to change anything. Once you get out of school, this’ll seem so insignificant. Look at the bigger picture." </p>
<p>You pouted. "I have to pass." </p>
<p>"You <em>will</em>. God, you have zero faith in yourself. You need to learn to chill out. I’ve seen you work. You’re so ready to deal with patients. And that’s the most important skill. Go easy, okay? You’ve got this.”</p>
<p>You couldn’t help but smile at his words. “You’re being too nice to me, James. Most of the time doctors love pointing out how stupid med students are.”</p>
<p>He snorted and sat back again, digging into his ice cream. “Med students <em>are </em>stupid. But I know skill when I see it.”</p>
<p>You blinked. Did he just compliment you or insult you?</p>
<p>“Thank you?" </p>
<p>"You’re welcome. And call me Bucky. That’s what I go by.”</p>
<p><em>Bucky</em>. It sounded so nice. So personal. It rolled almost naturally off your tongue. You looked down at your book once more, trying to hide the grin on your face. </p>
<p>………………. </p>
<p>You didn’t know when exactly your harmless crush turned into something so much more. All you knew was that Bucky was no longer just the handsome doctor who made your heart skip a beat.</p>
<p>You became kind of like his shadow, following him to different wards and watching him perform both simple tests and assist on invasive surgeries. Since you were with a doctor, you would be allowed into rooms that med students normally couldn’t go into without supervision. You witnessed a liver transplant, a splenectomy, at least three different bypass surgeries, and dozens of biopsies. You watched Bucky deal with emergencies, watched him talk to distraught patients in the softest of voices. You watched him work with steely focus in the most tense of situations, and every evening, you watched him leave the building with a satisfied smile on his face, a huge hoodie thrown over his scrubs and hair falling over his eyes, throwing you a wink as he made his way to the parking lot, leaving you dazed and thinking about him on your bus ride home.</p>
<p>Oh, the sinful thoughts in your head.</p>
<p>It was another such rainy evening when you found yourself gazing down the road, staring at car headlights as they zoomed past you. The poor excuse of a plastic shade overhead did nothing to keep the rain off you, and you could already feel the cold droplets run down your back, making you shiver.</p>
<p>Of all days, the bus had to be late <em>today</em>.</p>
<p>You sighed and rubbed your eyes. It had been a long day. You hadn’t slept the previous night because you had an assignment due, so by now, you were nearly dead on your feet. All you could think of was warm sheets that you could slip under and forget about everything. You were so exhausted.</p>
<p>“Y/N!” </p>
<p>You nearly didn’t hear him because of the patter of rain on the plastic shade overhead, blinking at the faint noise and turning your head to see where it came from. You spotted Bucky walking hurriedly over to you, half heartedly trying to keep the rain from falling on his head using his arms.</p>
<p>“C’mon! I’ll give you a ride.” He squinted at you through the rain, and you quickly shook your head.</p>
<p>“It’s okay! The bus will be here in a bit.”</p>
<p>He rolled his eyes. “It’s really no problem okay? And look at yourself. You really need to get home quick or you’re going to drop dead right here.”</p>
<p>You couldn’t argue with that, so hesitantly, you nodded.</p>
<p>None of you had an umbrella, so both of you made a run for his car in the rain, shielding your eyes from the pelting rain. You nearly yelped at how cold it was on your skin, but still persevered, stopping in front of the car Bucky was pointing at.</p>
<p>Bucky was now rummaging through his pockets, trying to find his keys.</p>
<p>“Oh my god, hurry!” You gritted, feeling the cold drops cascade down your back. You heard him curse through the noise of the rainfall.</p>
<p>“I can’t find them!” He yelled back, nealy bending in half trying to dig into his pockets.</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you have them in your hand?” You shrieked. </p>
<p>It suddenly hit you how comical the situation was, and combining that with your tired, sleep addled brain, you couldn’t help but dissolve into giggles.</p>
<p>Bucky paused in his search, looking at you weirdly. By now, you were both soaked through, his hair clinging to his face and your own falling into your eyes. When he grinned at you and threw his hands up in surrender, letting the rain attack him even more, you nearly doubled over in laughter. You both looked so pathetic, it was beyond funny.</p>
<p>“This seems like a fitting end to my shitty week.” You sniffled, feeling the water go up your nose. Bucky resumed his search, this time less frantic, sighing and jiggling the keys when he finally found them.</p>
<p>“C’mon, it wasn’t that shitty. Nailed that pharma presentation, didn’t you?” He said, making no move to unlock the car. You decided that you didn’t mind. Watching the raindrops trace the outlines of his face was much more fascinating anyway. You watched the raindrops split and haphazardly move through his stubble, finally dripping down his chin. You fought back the urge to push his hair behind his ear.</p>
<p>Bucky, however, seemed to not fight any such urge he had. His fingers moved across your cheek, pulling back the tendril of hair that had stuck to your face. You felt your heart skip, breath catching at the action. He was so close to you. Too close. And the rain was still there, now unnoticed due to his close proximity catching all your attention. Even in the darkness of the parking lot, you could make out the soft blue of his eyes tracing over your own face.</p>
<p>Then he was kissing you.</p>
<p>His hand found a home on your waist, warm despite the cold rain drenching him, his front pressing to yours, his other palm pressing into the car behind you for support. And his lips were <em>oh so soft</em>, warm against yours and almost feather light. You responded within a second, hands trying to find purchase on his broad shoulders, before tangling in the mess of hair behind his neck. His head was turning, deepening the kiss, body shuffling closer until your back made contact with the door of the car, pressing harder into you. His tongue snuck into your mouth and you nearly moaned, eyes rolling up when his hand traveled further south, grabbing your thigh and hiking your leg up, body nudging even closer to yours, until you couldn’t feel the rain anymore, and it was just<em> him him him</em>.</p>
<p>The kiss ended what seemed like an eternity later, but his grip didn’t hold up. Both of you breathed hard, trying to normalize yourselves, his grip still tight around you, his nose nudging your cheek. Despite the lack of oxygen, you wanted to kiss him again and again. You never wanted it to stop.</p>
<p>“Really shouldn’t be making out in a hospital parking lot.” He mumbled, making a grin break out on your face.</p>
<p>“Yup. Very unethical, Dr Barnes. We need to go make out somewhere else immediately.”</p>
<p>His grin matched yours, leaving another toe curling kiss on your mouth before finally pulling away, much to your disdain. He unlocked the car and opened the door for you, grinning at you through the rain. </p>
<p>“Shall we go? We’ve got lots of making out to do.”</p>
<p>Your grin only grew wider as you climbed into the car, reveling in the satisfied buzz of your limbs, already eager to have Bucky’s skin on yours once again.</p>
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